OH,
WHY DO I FACE SO MUCH TEMPTATION?

Seneca cried,
Oh, that a hand would come down from heaven and deliver me from my setting
sin! His plea has been echoed throughout the centuries, we have
all wished for that same miracle.

Sinful habits begin innocently enough, but if we do not master them, they
will surely master us. We have all experienced the cycle: enjoy a forbidden
pleasure, feel guilty, determine never to do it again, take pride in brief
moments of self-control, then fail once more. Each time we repeat the pattern
of defeat the ruts are cut a bit deeper, the cords of sin pull tighter.

We easily excuse our behavior! We say, Well, we are just human!
We become pessimistic, even defiant, and self-protective, and soon find ourselves
victimized by a sin that refuses to budge. This behavior pattern becomes so
familiar that eventually we dont even want to change -- it is too difficult
we feel. Then it is easy to settle into an uneasy smugness, we come to feel
at home in our anger, lust, covetousness, worry, gluttony, laziness, bitterness,
and selfishness -- except for our small and occasional efforts at correction.
Sometimes we feel convicted, after some sermon, or some event, but it never
lasts very long. We dont want to face what we truly have become.

By now you would say with me that we have been experiencing the two steps
forward, and three steps backward routine. Despite my sincere attempts
at yielding myself to God, I retained certain weaknessess (sins is a more
honest word) that I concluded I would simple have to live with. After all,
no one is perfect! But I knew my private failure was no credit to Christ,
who won the victory on the Cross for me. Through many failures and a few victories,
I have discovered that the most persistent sin can be dislodge, I can have
victory.

Imagine a city that is constantly being attack at a vulnerable point along
one of its walls. The enemy habitually exploits the same weakness with startling,
and continued success. Dont you think that the inhabitants would rebuild
the defective fortification in preparation for the next assault? Yet countless
Christians repeatedly succumb to the same temptations, the same failures without
a constructive program for victory. Why accept defeat or failure as a way
of life? God has a different plan! For He has given us a message of deliverance
and hope. Applying biblical principles takes time and discipline but steady
progress can take place, we can change, long established and sinful behavior
patterns can be replaced by wholesome attitudes and actions.

Why so
much temptation?

Why is lust so powerful asked Burt, who was crushed
by the weight of his guilt. He had fallen into sexual sin. How
can I trust myself. I dont want to live an immoral life. I promised
myself I wouldnt do this, but here I am again.

1. Why is
temptation so attractive, unrelenting, and powerful?
2. Why doesnt God adjust the degree of our temptations so that we
would not fail?
3. Why doesnt God just removes us from temptation -- take our sinful
nature away, free us from the weight of temptation, and passions, etc. ?

I. WHAT DO
WE WISH?

A. That
Satan would be BANNED!Our thoughts could be:Why doesnt God just eliminate the devil? In fact, if He had done
that at the time of creation, then chances are Adam and Eve would never
have plunged humanity into sin. Since Adam and Eve were free-moral agents,
why didnt God give them the opportunity to choose without any outside
interference from Satan? Maybe Adam and Eve did not know about Satans
existence and were unprepared for temptation. If God had only barred satan
from the garden, Adam and Eve would not have been inclined to disobey God.

The presence of the devil in the Garden and his activity on our planet tips
the scales in favor of evil choices. Im not saying we have to follow
his sinister suggestions, but if he were banned from the earth, we could
resist temptation much easier and maybe Adam and Eve would never have sinned
in the first place.

Much of the evil in the world, including our own struggles can be traced
to the interference of unseen, evil spiritual forces. If God were to have
annihilate the devil, or at least confined him to to the pit, or some other
planet, then we would not have our struggles with sins, failures and all
that goes with it. Our battles could have been minimized at least and we
would we have been more inclined to resist the enticement of sin. Why doesnt God just remove Satan, we may well ask?

B.
That our passions would be dampened!Surely if God would dull the arrows of temptation that harass us
from the inside -- we would not sin so readily. Where does sin come from
? (James 1:14) You and I were born with a sin nature which combines response
to outward stimuli with its inner twisted passions of greed, selfishness,
anger, rebellion, and lust.
Every honest Christian admits to being overcome by one or more of these
desires from time to time in his spiritual pilgrimage. Surely, God who made
all things, could have lessened our passions just a bit, we could then be
more victorious and a credit to our Savior. Our struggle is clearly seen
in Pauls words in Romans 7:15. The Church reformer, John Knox wrote these words before he died: Now,
after many battles, I find nothing in me but vanity and corruption. For
in quietness I am negligent, in trouble impatient, tending to desperation;
pride and ambition assault me on the one part, covetousness and malice trouble
me on the other; briefly, Oh Lord, the affections of the flesh do almost
suppress the operation of Thy Spirit. If this man of God had such
struggles, is there hope for any of us?

C. That our opportunities to sin would be changed!

Even if God did not banish the devil or dull our sinful passions and appetites,
couldnt He have guided us away from the places of temptation?
Didnt David sin with Bathsheba because she happened to be taking a
bath next door while the king was resting on the rooftop? It seems that
God could have arranged for her to take her bath two hours earlier, or an
hour later. Surely a sovereign God would have no difficulty changing our
schedules, causing things to happen differently so His finite creatures
would be less apt to sin.

Didnt Achan sin because he saw a Babylonian garment left unattended
after the siege of Jericho? Didnt Abraham lie because there was a
famine in the land and he feared for his life. Didnt Samson divulge
his secret because of his attraction to the charming Delilah?

Consider:
1. God does not shield us from circumstances that provoke us to sin.
2. Remember it was the Holy Spirit who led Christ into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil.
3. In the Lords prayer Jesus taught the disciples to pray And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matt.
16:13

We are to ask God to preserve us from situations where we might be
vulnerable to sin. Yet we must admit, God does lead us into circumstances
that potentially could provoke us to sin!

4. God does not cause us to sin; nor does He tempt us as Satan does. James
1:13
5. We can never blame God for what we do. If we sin, it is because of
our own choices, our sinful nature. Therefore we are responsible.
6. But God does test us; He also allows Satan to tempt us. Quite unintentionally
on our part (at times), we can find ourselves in situations that are an
outward stimulus to sin.
What about the more subtle sins of the mind? Yes, Christ taught that evil
originates in the heart, but many of our struggles with evil thoughts
are provoked by our environment. All around us are stimuli which draws
out the worst in us. Without taking us out of the world, God could lead
us to circumstances less conducive to evil passions, covetousness, and
anger. But God has not shielded us from the places or power of cruel temptation.
Satan has access to our lives; our sin nature is unrestricted, and often
without warning we find ourselves in situations that contribute to outward
or secret sin.

II. WHY WE
ARE TEMPTED?

A. As a
Test of Loyalty.

1. God has
a purpose in allowing us to be tempted. To begin with, lets remember
that temptation, with all its frightful possibilities for failure, is
Gods method of testing our loyalties.
2. We cannot say that we love someone until we have had to make some hard
choices on his or her behalf.
3. We cannot say that we love God unless weve said NO to persistent
temptation.

Abraham
is an example of this: God asked him to slay his favorite son -- Isaac.
Likely, he was strongly tempted to say NO to God. The altar he built was
probably the most carefully constructed one ever made. As he worked, he
surely thought of numerous reasons why he should disobey God: Like, Isaac
was needed to fulfill Gods promise; Sarah would never understand,
and above all, how could a merciful God expect a man to slay his own beloved
son?

We know how the story ended! Abraham passed the test; the angel of the
Lord prevented him from stabbing his son. Gods evaluation: Now
I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only
son, from Me. Gen. 22:124.How do you know that Abraham loved God? Because
he chose to say YES when all the powers of hell and the passions of his
soul were crying, NO.
The fierce temptation gave Abraham a striking opportunity to prove his
love for the Almighty God.

What about the woman who seemingly cannot resist falling in love with
another man? How about the alcoholic tempted by his friends to revert
back to his old habits?
How about the young man surrounded by the wrong crowd?

Why doesnt God shield us from these circumstances? He is allowing
us the luxury of difficult choices so that we can prove our love for Him.
These are our opportunities to choose God rather than the world.

Do you and I love God? What happens when we are faced with the touch decision
such as whether we will satisfy our passions, sinful desires, or control
them? Our response to temptations is an accurate barometer of our love
for God. One of the first steps in handling temptation is to see it as
an opportunity to test our loyalties. Each temptation leaves us better
or worse; neutrality is impossible.

B. To Transform
Our Lives.

1. A second
reason God does not make our choices easier is because temptation
is His character development curriculum.
Sinful habits are a millstone about our necks, a blotch on our lives,
a cord around our hearts.
2. Our temptations, struggles, and yes, even our sins are used by God
to help us climb the ladder of spiritual maturity.
3. He desires to build us-- to make us better, godly, righteous, desiring
a holy life. If you see your sinful struggles only as a liability, you
will never learn all that God wants to teach you through them.

WHY doesnt God exterminate the devil.? Admittedly,
the presence of wicked spirits in the world does make our choices more
difficult. But think of what such agonizing choices mean to God. We prove
our love for God when we say yes to Him, even when the deck
appears to be stacked against us. What it boils down to is this:do we value the pleasures
of the world OR those that come from God? The opportunities for sin
that pop up around us, the sinful nature within us, and the demonic forces
around us gives us numerous opportunities to answer that question.

4. Character is formed in the storms of life.
5. God wants to do something more beautiful in your life than simply give
you victory over sin -- He wants to replace that sin with the positive
qualities of a fruitful life.

Temptation is Gods magnifying glass; it shows us how much work
He has left to do in our lives. When Israel was in the wilderness God
allowed them to become hungry and thirsty. On one occasion they were without
water for three days. They became disappointed with their slow pace of
travel; they were impatient with Mosess long time on the mountain.

Why didnt God meet their expectations? Listen -- Deut 8:2b God
did all this that He might humble you, testing you, to know what
was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
There is the reason!

6. God allowed the Israelites to suffer temptation to test their loyalties
and to bring out their latent sinfulness. Temptation brings out the best
or the worst in us. Israel did not realize how rebellious they were until
they
got hungry. Temptation brings the impurities to the surface. Then God
begins the siphoning process!

1. God uses
our temptation, and our sins to show us His grace and power.
2. The depressing effect of sin is offset by the good news of Gods
grace.

Pauls thorn in the flesh was given so that he would remain humble.
Perhaps it was a temptation he struggled to resist. He asked God three
times for deliverance, but--God said,My grace is sufficient
for you... (II Cor. 12:9a).
Paul therefore boasted about his weakness, knowing that it provided an
opportunity for Gods power to rest upon him. -- vs. 10b.
If you are beset by an especially obstinate sin, you may be on the verge
of seeing Gods grace displayed in your life. Although you may now
be preoccupied with your struggle, you may soon be preoccupied with your
God.

3. Think about that particular sin of yours -- the one that wont
move off center stage of your life. Maybe it is an obvious one, like drunkenness,
gluttony, sexual misconduct, or maybe a private sin -- one of the mind
-- pride, anxiety, fear, or bitterness, or impure thoughts. Maybe your
imagination would make an x-rated movies look censored? Or maybe you have
a personality quirk, a feeling of deep seated inferiority, or uncontrollable
temper?
4. Whatever it is God can deliver you from that sin. You and He can track
it down and exterminate it; Sin need not have dominion over you.
5. You can be sure God will never take from you something that is good.
6. Rather, when you are ready, He will remove the evil and replace it
with something far better.
7. He will tear down your fortress so that He can build a palace in its
place.

Are you
ready for such a transformation?

Sermon by Dr. Edward Watke Jr.---- Revival
in the Home Ministries, Inc.